Kathy  Lewis 

 Art by Kathy - pencil drawing and acrylic paintings, using various techniques including Fluid Art (no brush), 2022 to 2024 

 in the Budgeon’s display case, foyer Richmond Library

415 Church Street, Richmond

 9 July to 29 September 2024  

Report by Cressida Fox

In Kathy Lewis’s display of artworks and support material in The Budgeons Case in the foyer of Richmond Library, she is showing a fine colour pencil drawing of a blue rose, and 10 acrylic on canvas paintings. In her paintings, she has very skilfully used various special ‘no brush’ techniques including scratchboard, pull-string, and paint pouring. Her colours are vibrant and exciting.

Kathy Lewis's display in The Budgeons Case, Richmond Library

Sapphire Serenity, pencil, 28 x 37 cm, by Kathy Lewis

In each acrylic on canvas, a selection of paints has been poured onto different sections of the surface, then flowed or manipulated. In “Larval Bloom”, one can see the flows in black, red and white, with brindled areas where the paints have met and interacted. In “Aquatic Abstraction”, blues mingle with white foam and touches of green. The paints have been pured, flowed, and pulled using the various techniques.

Larval Bloom, acrylic on stretch canvas, 30 x 40 cm, by Kathy Lewis

Aquatic Abstraction, acrylic on stretched canvas, 20 x 20 cm, by Kathy Lewis

In “Cosmic Blaze”, the bubble forms, streaks and drawstring lines in blues, whites and ochres float against a black background. The colours in “Ethereal Serpent” are particularly rich – strong primary red, yellow and blue with black and soft green – with brindling where the paints have interacted and separated.

Cosmic Blaze, acrylics on stretched canvas, 21 x 21 cm, by Kathy Lewis

Ethereal Serpent, acrylic on stretched canvas, 24 x 24 cm, by Kathy Lewis

The acrylics on canvas are flowing abstracts, except for one work: “Red Spring”. In this work, the bright red flowers with white highlights are clearly defined against the black background, each petal skilfully formed by using strings to draw the paints, no brush involved.

Red Spring, acrylic on canvas, 26 x 31 cm, by Kathy Lewis

Kathy is the President and Newsletter editor of the Heidelberg Artist’s Society and a member of various arts organisations Her group and solo exhibitions include an ‘Artist in Residence’ at the Mungga Studios at Ivanhoe Library & Cultural Hub, Ivanhoe through the Banyule Arts & Culture Program.